Volkswagen slows output at largest factory amid tepid European demand

Volkswagen AG will reduce output at its largest factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on four days this month as consumer appetite for new cars remains weak in Europe.

Volkswagen will temporarily halt production on two assembly lines that make the Tiguan, Touran and Seat Tarraco models and cancel one shift at a separate line that produces the Golf hatchback, the company said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

“We have to keep operating flexibly depending on customers’ vehicle orders," the German carmaker said, adding that it hopes the situation will normalize as soon as possible.

The world’s largest automaker gradually restarted output in Europe last month along with peers from Daimler AG to Renault SA after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered factories in March and most of April. But while lockdown measures are easing, many customers still stay clear of showrooms as the economic fallout of the crisis has started to push up unemployment across the region.

Volkswagen said while sales in China exceeded the prior-year level in April, it will keep adjusting output to demand until sales in Europe pick up.